Among all the industrial activities being developed around the world, the construction sector is certainly the most male-dominated sector. For this reason, this project analyzes the opinion regarding gender equality held by workers in this sector in Spain. In order to accomplish this goal, a web survey of 1353 building engineers across the country has been conducted (48.7% men, 51.3% women), which makes it the biggest sample analyzed to date. The results show men, older workers, self-employed, and workers having higher levels of revenues in the construction sector as those with the most unfavorable attitude towards gender equality in the profession. These results also reveal the groups where it is most needed to implement awareness-raising actions in order for the gender equality policies to be successful in the Building Engineering sector in Spain.
Entre todas las actividades industriales que se desarrollan en todo el mundo, el sector de la construcción es sin duda el sector más masculinizado. Por ello, en esta investigación se analiza la opinión relativa a la igualdad de género que poseen trabajadores/as de este sector en España. Para lograr este objetivo, se realizó una encuesta web a 1353 ingenieros/as de la construcción en todo el país (48,7% hombres, 51,3% mujeres). Los resultados muestran que los varones, los trabajadores de mayor edad, los autónomos y los trabajadores con mayores niveles de ingresos en el sector son los que tienen la actitud más desfavorable hacia la igualdad de género en la profesión. Estos resultados también permite vislumbrar en qué colectivos se necesita, con mayor urgencia, implementar acciones de sensibilización para que las políticas de igualdad de género tengan éxito en el sector de la ingeniería de la edificación en España.
In modern democratic societies, since the second half of the XX century, a due account has been taken of equal working opportunities (
Therefore, knowing the attitude towards gender equality becomes vital for the success of policies leading to a reduction of inequality. Results presented by Ipsos for the Spanish case reveal that Spanish men have a more negative attitude (or an attitude of rejection) than women towards gender equality. Furthermore, the attitude of Spanish men towards gender equality analyzed by Ipsos is in coherence with the findings obtained by the research conducted by Arroyo Barrio in 2017 (
The low rate of women employed in the construction sector in Spain is not a phenomenon exclusive to this country (
Women’s unequal access to the labor market in the construction sector is increasingly under study in scientific literature in different countries (
Apart from the obstacles faced by women that hamper their entrance to the construction industry, there are other barriers met by female employees in this field throughout their professional careers (
In the light of the foregoing, and for the commitment with gender equality and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (
Participants of this study are a representative sample of the professionals belonging to associations of Official Colleges of Building Engineers in Spain in 2018. At that time, there was a total of 49821 members, 79.2% were men (39302 professionals), and 20.8% female (10341 professionals) (
To ensure the ethics of scientific research, the design of the questionnaire and its implementation was supervised by the Data Protection Officer of the Spanish General Council of Technical Arquitecture. The link to the online survey was provided through a banner in the same webpage of the Spanish General Council of Technical Arquitecture. In order to gain access to the questions, participants had to previously read a document where the goals and objectives of the study were presented. There were also issues such as the approximate duration of the questionnaire and the willingness and anonymity guaranteed by the Data Protection Law existing in Spain (
The questionnaire was designed by the Spanish General Council of Technical Arquitecture. It is composed of 39 close questions, being four of them sociodemographic questions which will allow us to characterize the sample (see
TOTAL | Total Sample | Men | Women | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
N | % | N | % | N | % | |
1353 | 659 | 694 | ||||
Age | ||||||
< 30 years | 130 | 9.6 | 39 | 5.9 | 91 | 13.1 |
30-40 years | 413 | 30.5 | 180 | 27.3 | 233 | 33.6 |
41-50 years | 523 | 38.7 | 223 | 33.8 | 300 | 43.2 |
51-60 years | 201 | 14.9 | 139 | 21.1 | 62 | 8.9 |
>60 years | 86 | 6.4 | 78 | 11.8 | 8 | 1.2 |
Exercise of the profession | ||||||
Salaried employee | 382 | 28.2 | 143 | 21.7 | 239 | 34.4 |
Official or similar | 166 | 12.3 | 73 | 11.1 | 93 | 13.4 |
Self-employed | 805 | 59.5 | 443 | 55.0 | 362 | 45.0 |
Monthly income | ||||||
< 500 € | 70 | 5.2 | 30 | 4.6 | 40 | 5.8 |
500-1000 € | 209 | 15.4 | 82 | 12.5 | 127 | 18.3 |
1001-1500 € | 397 | 29.3 | 173 | 26.3 | 224 | 32.3 |
1501-2000 € | 345 | 25.5 | 165 | 25.1 | 180 | 26.0 |
2001-3000 € | 248 | 18.3 | 145 | 22.0 | 103 | 14.9 |
> 3000 € | 82 | 6.1 | 63 | 9.6 | 19 | 2.7 |
The bulk of the sample (more than 60%) was aged between 30 and 50 years old, 9.6% being under 30 years of age, and 6.4% over 60 years of age. As regards how the profession is done, 59.5% carry on their profession on a self-employed basis, followed by 28.9% who work as an employee for others. As far as monthly revenues are concerned, more than 50% of the sample earn between 1000 and 2000 €, although it should be noted that, over a quarter of the sample (20.6%) are paid less than 1000 € per month. When disaggregating data according to gender and age, for ages above 51, there is a greater presence of men (32.9%) than women (10.1%). Furthermore, there are more women than men working as an employee for others, or in the public sector. In relation to the income, the results indicate a higher presence of women in the lowest areas. 18.3% of women earn between 500 and 1000 €, as opposed to 12.5% of men who are in the same salary level. On the contrary, those receiving a larger salary are mainly men.
The questions raised in the analysis are linked to the respondents’ perception of gender equality. Firstly, they were asked about their perception towards gender equality in general terms; secondly, about equality in the personal working environment, and thirdly, about a future readiness to promote equality in the sector (
Perception towards gender equality in the field |
Who encounters more difficulties in entering the profession? |
Perception towards gender equality in the field in the personal working environment |
Your colleagues with technical training are mainly male |
In your working environment, men’s and women’s opinions are equally valued |
Future readiness to promote equality |
You believe in the possibility to take actions that improve the reconciliation of family life and the work in the non-regulated profession |
In order to know the respondents’ answers and the sociodemographic characteristics associated to the answers, a bivariate analysis has been conducted using the Chi-square test. Furthermore, the strength association is determined with Cramer’s V or φ (Phi), according to
The results hereunder will be presented following the order exposed in
One of the first questions addressed to the sample was the perception of the gender who encounters more difficulties in entering the building engineering profession, men, women, or both genders equally. As is evident from
Men | Women | Both | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
n | % | n | % | n | % | |
TOTAL | 11 | 0.8 | 800 | 59.1 | 542 | 40.1 |
Sex (V: 0.330) | ||||||
Men | 7 | 1.1 | 280 | ↓42.5 | 372 | ↑56.6 |
Women | 4 | 0.6 | 520 | ↑74.9 | 170 | ↓24.5 |
Age (V: 0.108) | ||||||
< 30 years | 0 | 0.0 | 96 | ↑73.8 | 34 | ↓26.2 |
30-40 years | 5 | 1.2 | 260 | 63.0 | 148 | ↓35.8 |
41-50 years | 4 | 0.8 | 306 | 58.5 | 213 | 40.7 |
51-60 years | 1 | 0.5 | 100 | ↓49.8 | 100 | ↑49.8 |
> 60 years | 1 | 1.2 | 38 | ↓44.2 | 47 | ↑54.7 |
Exercise of the profession (V: 0.108) | ||||||
Salaried employee | 2 | 0.5 | 266 | ↑69.6 | 114 | ↓29.8 |
Official or similar | 1 | 0.6 | 107 | 64.5 | 58 | 34.9 |
Self-employed | 8 | 1.0 | 427 | ↓53.0 | 370 | ↑46.0 |
In judging these results according to those sociodemographic characteristics presenting a statistical association, the gender of the respondent shows a stronger association (one of the highest in the study,
Another statistically significant association of this content variable with the variable ‘age’ (
Finally, with regards to the ‘exercise of the profession’, the most critical individuals with the situation of women are the salaried employees (69.6%, 266 cases). However, the self-employed individuals consider, to a lesser degree, that no differences are seen regarding gender when entering the profession (46.0%, 370 cases).
In the survey, another question addressed to the respondents made them reflect on the gender that a client or developer would choose when hiring a technical service. In
Men | Women | Either | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
n | % | n | % | n | % | |
TOTAL | 590 | 43.6 | 22 | 1.6 | 740 | 54.7 |
Sex (V: 0.285) | ||||||
Men | 192 | ↓29.1 | 13 | 2.0 | 454 | ↑68.9 |
Women | 398 | ↑57.4 | 9 | 1.3 | 286 | ↓41.3 |
Exercise of the profession (V: 0.094) | ||||||
Salaried employee | 195 | ↑51.0 | 9 | 2.4 | 178 | ↓46.6 |
Official or similar | 84 | ↑50.9 | 3 | 1.8 | 78 | ↓47.3 |
Self-employed | 311 | ↓38.6 | 10 | 1.2 | 484 | ↑60.1 |
Monthly income (V: 0.098) | ||||||
< 500 € | 35 | 50.0 | 2 | 2.9 | 33 | 47.1 |
500-1000 € | 104 | 49.8 | 5 | 2.4 | 100 | ↓47.8 |
1001-1500 € | 189 | 47.6 | 4 | 1.0 | 204 | 51.4 |
1501 -2000 € | 139 | 40.3 | 4 | 1.2 | 202 | 58.6 |
2001-3000 € | 103 | 41.5 | 4 | 1.6 | 141 | 56.9 |
> 3000 € | 20 | ↓24.4 | 3 | 3.7 | 59 | ↑72.0 |
Once more, the variable ‘sex’ of the respondent discloses a high statistical association (Cramer’s V = 0.285). If attention is paid to the corrected typified wastes, men believe, to a great extent (68.9% - 454 cases), that the developer or client would hire either gender. Nonetheless, women who have participated in the survey think differently. Most women (57.4%, 398 cases) admit that the developer or client would rather hire a man for the technical service.
Although the strength of association is not that high, the variables ‘exercise of the profession’ (Cramer’s V =0.094) and ‘monthly income’ (Cramer’s V = 0.098) also present a significant statistical association with this question. Regarding the ‘exercise of the profession’, salaried employees (51.0%, 195 cases), followed by officials or similar (50.9%, 84 cases) perceive a higher inequality. They consider that men would be the preferred choice of the developer or client. Meanwhile, self-employed individuals (60.1% of this specific group, 484 cases) consider to a great extent, that the client or developer will not take into account the technician’s sex. Finally, those having the highest salary (more than 3000 € per month) believe to a much greater extent that the developer or client would hire a person for the technical service, without regard to the gender (72.0%, 59 cases).
In another question of the survey, respondents were asked about the ease to be hired in a company of the sector. On this occasion, as displayed in
Men | Women | Either | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
n | % | n | % | n | % | |
TOTAL | 837 | 61.9 | 36 | 2.7 | 479 | 35.4 |
Sex (V: 0.370) | ||||||
Men | 288 | ↓43.7 | 32 | ↑4.9 | 339 | ↑51.4 |
Women | 549 | ↑79.2 | 4 | ↓0.6 | 140 | ↓20.2 |
Age (V: 0.117) | ||||||
< 30 years | 89 | 69.0 | 3 | 2.3 | 37 | 28.7 |
30-40 years | 267 | 64.6 | 8 | 1.9 | 138 | 33.4 |
41-50 years | 334 | 63.9 | 10 | 1.9 | 179 | 34.2 |
51-60 years | 105 | ↓52.2 | 6 | 3.0 | 90 | ↑44.8 |
> 60 years | 42 | ↓48.8 | 9 | ↑10.5 | 35 | 40.7 |
Exercise of the profession (V: 0.086) | ||||||
Salaried employee | 263 | ↑68.8 | 10 | 2.6 | 109 | ↓28.5 |
Official or similar | 113 | 68.5 | 1 | 0.6 | 51 | 30.9 |
Self-employed | 461 | ↓57.3 | 25 | 3.1 | 319 | ↑39.6 |
Monthly income (V: 0.100) | ||||||
<500 € | 44 | 62.9 | 4 | 5.7 | 22 | 31.4 |
500-1000 € | 137 | 65.6 | 8 | 3.8 | 64 | 30.6 |
1001-1500 € | 252 | 63.5 | 11 | 2.8 | 134 | 33.8 |
1501 -2000 € | 218 | 63.2 | 6 | 1.7 | 121 | 35.1 |
2001-3000 € | 154 | 62.1 | 4 | 1.6 | 90 | 36.3 |
>3000 € | 32 | ↓39.0 | 3 | 3.7 | 47 | ↑57.3 |
As displayed in
The variable ‘exercise of the profession’ preserves the dynamics of the questions discussed above. The salaried employees are the most critical respondents by reporting to a great extent that it is easier for men (68.8%, 263 cases). Nevertheless, the self-employed group claims that the staff selection does not depend on gender (39.6%, 319 cases), as the corrected typified wastes study show. Finally, regarding the ‘monthly income’, those receiving higher salaries (more than 3000 €) consider to a great extent (57.3%, 47 cases) that the staff selection does not depend on gender. This makes it to be statistically significant.
In order to finalize the analysis of questions related to the perception of equality in the Technical Architecture sector, the opinion concerning equal pay for men and women has been analyzed in
As displayed in
Yes | No | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
n | % | n | % | |
TOTAL | 616 | 45.6 | 735 | 54.4% |
Sex (φ: 0.369) | ||||
Men | 424 | ↑64.4 | 234 | ↓35.6% |
Women | 192 | ↓27.7 | 501 | ↑72.3% |
Age (V: 0.158) | ||||
< 30 years | 54 | 41.9 | 75 | 58.1 |
30-40 years | 163 | ↓39.6 | 249 | ↑60.4 |
41-50 years | 227 | 43.4 | 296 | 56.6 |
51-60 years | 115 | ↑57.2 | 86 | ↓42.8 |
> 60 years | 57 | ↑66.3 | 29 | ↓33.7 |
Exercise of the profession (V: 0.166) | ||||
Salaried employee | 124 | ↓32.5 | 257 | ↑67.5 |
Official or similar | 78 | 47.3 | 87 | 52.7 |
Self-employed | 414 | ↑51.4 | 391 | ↓48.6 |
Monthly income (V: 0.106) | ||||
<500 € | 31 | 44.3 | 39 | 55.7 |
500-1000 € | 89 | 42.6 | 120 | 57.4 |
1001-1500 € | 160 | ↓40.3 | 237 | ↑59.7 |
1501 -2000 € | 162 | 47.0 | 183 | 53.0 |
2001-3000 € | 124 | 50.0 | 124 | 50.0 |
>3000 € | 50 | ↑61.0 | 32 | ↓39.0 |
In regards to the variable ‘age’ (Cramer’s V = 0.158), the same dynamic can be seen. Older age groups perceive less inequality, whereas the youngest groups are the most critical. This time, respondents between 30 and 40 years old believe to a great extent that there is a discrepancy between the wages levels paid between male and female workers, to the detriment of women (60.4%, 249 cases). People in the 51-60 age group (57.2%, 115 cases) together with the group above 60 (66.3%, 57 cases) claim that wages are indeed equal. Regarding the variable ‘exercise of the profession’, the salaried employees mainly report the gender inequality in wages. 67.5% (257 cases) of salaried employees believe that women wages are not fair vis-à-vis their male colleagues. Nevertheless, respondents who declare working as self-employed believe that wages are equal (51.4%, 414 cases).
Finally, when examining the variable ‘monthly income’ we can once more observe that those having higher salaries (more than 3000 € per month) are the least critical with the pay gap. 61.0% (50 cases) believe in the existence of a fair wage gap between men and women. Nonetheless, respondents earning between 1001 and 1500 € per month are the most critical age group in this question. 59.7% (237 cases) claim that salaries are not distributed equally amongst men and women in the Building Engineering sector, being women the worst affected group.
In this section, we are going to analyze two questions related to the equality in their own company, or in their job. Firstly, respondents are requested to indicate the gender of the majority of their colleagues. As can be seen in
Men | Women | Similar |
||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
n | % | n | % | n | % | |
TOTAL | 931 | 68.9 | 107 | 7.9 | 314 | 23.2 |
Sex (V: 0.087) | ||||||
Men | 427 | ↓64.8 | 61 | 9.3 | 171 | ↑25.9 |
Women | 504 | ↑72.7 | 46 | 6.6 | 143 | ↓20.6 |
Exercise of the profession (V: 0.118) | ||||||
Salaried employee | 269 | 70.4 | 23 | 6.0 | 90 | 23.6 |
Official or similar | 84 | ↓50.9 | 29 | ↑17.6 | 52 | ↑31.5 |
Self-employed | 578 | ↑71.8 | 55 | 6.8 | 172 | ↓21.4 |
As far as the variable ‘exercise of the profession’ is concerned, we should outline the percentage of self-employed individuals (71.8%, 578 cases) who believe that their colleagues are mainly men. This situation changes in officials or similar, as 31.5% of them declare that their colleagues are men and women, in the same proportion (52 cases). It is worth stressing that, it is within this group where we find the highest percentage of respondents who esteem that their colleagues are mainly women, reaching 17.6% (29 cases).
A second question related to the personal experience in the working environment requested respondents to consider whether or not, in their opinion, in their working environment, opinions coming from men and women are equally valued. In accordance with
Yes | No | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
n | % | n | % | |
TOTAL | 1028 | 76.0 | 324 | 24.0 |
Sex (φ: 0.326) | ||||
Men | 595 | ↑90.3 | 64 | ↓9.7 |
Women | 433 | ↓62.5 | 260 | ↑37.5 |
Age (V: 0.116) | ||||
< 30 years | 96 | 74.4 | 33 | 25.6 |
30-40 years | 291 | ↓70.5 | 122 | ↑29.5 |
41-50 years | 399 | 76.3 | 124 | 23.7 |
51-60 years | 168 | ↑83.6 | 33 | ↓16.4 |
> 60 years | 74 | ↑86.0 | 12 | ↓14.0 |
Exercise of the profession (V: 0.115) | ||||
Salaried employee | 264 | ↓69.1 | 118 | ↑30.9 |
Official or similar | 120 | 72.7 | 45 | 27.3 |
Self-employed | 644 | ↑80.0 | 161 | ↓20.0 |
Monthly income (V: 0.124) | ||||
< 500 € | 50 | 71.4 | 20 | 28.6 |
500-1000 € | 151 | 72.2 | 58 | 27.8 |
1001-1500 € | 283 | ↓71.3 | 114 | ↑28.7 |
1501 -2000 € | 267 | 77.4 | 78 | 22.6 |
2001-3000 € | 202 | ↑81.5 | 46 | ↓18.5 |
> 3000 € | 74 | ↑90.2 | 8 | ↓9.8 |
The distribution of answers is statistical significant in all the variables included in the analysis (
Concerning the ‘exercise of the profession’, the most critical group with the fact of valuing the opinion of men and women alike are the salaried employees, where 30.9% (118 cases) do not think that it is valued alike. On the contrary, self-employed agree the most with the fact of opinions being equally valued (80.0%, 644 cases). Finally, after due analysis of the variable ‘monthly income’, it appears that individuals earning between 1001 and 1500 € are those who believe the most that opinions are not equally valued, whereas individuals with higher wages (2001-3000 € and more than 3000 €) consider to a great extent that opinions are equally valued.
In order to conclude the results section, we will analyze the respondents’ attitude or readiness to promote equality in the Building Engineering sector. In the first question, shown in
Yes | No | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
n | % | n | % | |
TOTAL | 1259 | 93.1 | 93 | 6.9 |
Sex (φ: 0.092) | ||||
Men | 598 | ↓90.7 | 61 | ↑9.3 |
Women | 661 | ↑95.4 | 32 | ↓4.6 |
Exercise of the profession (V: 0.075) | ||||
Salaried employee | 365 | ↑95.5 | 17 | ↓4.5 |
Official or similar | 157 | 95.2 | 8 | 4.8 |
Self-employed | 737 | ↓91.6 | 68 | ↑8.4 |
The sociodemographic variables that expose a statistical association with this question are ‘sex’ (φ = 0.092) and ‘exercise of the profession’ (Cramer’s V = 0.075); both with a low strength of association. The study about the corrected typified wastes found that again women consider the most that actions improving the reconciliation could be conducted (95.4%, 661 cases). A view that is shared by a vast majority of men, although the percentage is lower, as it dropped significantly, 79.5% (524 cases). Finally, differences in ‘exercise of the profession’ reveal a high level of agreement regarding the actions to be carried out in order to improve the reconciliation in participants working as salaried employees (95.5%, 365 cases).
In the last question, respondents were asked whether or not actions should be taken by the professional organization in order to study the real situation of women in the Building Engineering sector. By comparison with the previous question,
Yes | No | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
n | % | n | % | |
TOTAL | 1169 | 86.5 | 183 | 13.5 |
Sex (φ: 0.198) | ||||
Men | 524 | ↓79.5 | 135 | ↑20.5 |
Women | 645 | ↑93.1 | 48 | ↓6.9 |
Exercise of the profession (V: 0.143) | ||||
Salaried employee | 350 | ↑91.6 | 32 | ↓8.4 |
Official or similar | 155 | ↑93.9 | 10 | ↓6.1 |
Self-employed | 664 | ↓82.5 | 141 | ↑17.5 |
The analysis reveals that men manifest more their opposition to the actions taken by the professional organization in order to study the real situation of women in the construction sector. This opposition is declared by 20.5% of the male respondents (183 cases). In the case of women, 93.1% (645 cases) consider that actions should be taken by the professional organization. Finally, self-employed individuals show again a great rejection to this kind of actions. 17.5% (141 cases) believe that this kind of actions should not be carried out.
The
Variable | Perception of inequality | No perception of inequality |
---|---|---|
Exercise of the profession | Women |
Men |
Client/developer’s preferences | Women |
Men |
Selection and recruitment processes | Women |
Men |
Income | Women |
Men |
Gender among colleagues | Women |
Men |
The value given by colleagues | Women |
Men |
|
|
|
Actions to improve the reconciliation of family life and work | Women |
Men |
Actions to study the situation of women in the sector | Women |
Men |
Concerning attitude towards new measures leading to reduce and eradicate the discrimination against women in the Building Engineering sector, the pattern regarding the sociodemographic characteristics linked to favorable attitudes is similar to the pattern previously presented in regards to ‘sex’ and ‘exercise of the profession’. Women and salaried employees, or officials or similar are the individuals who support the most this kind of measures. Nevertheless, as detractors, we could mention again men and self-employed individuals.
In conclusion, the negative attitude of male workers in the Building Engineering field towards equality, or the recognition of inequality in the sector is in line with the findings obtained by Laura Arroyo in the Spanish framework in 2017. Her conclusions highlight two main ideas. On the one hand, for male interviewees, equal access to employment already exists in Spain. On the other hand, any man agrees with the idea of taking positive actions towards women, regardless of the sector involved. Among the reasons given for this attitude, they believe that these positive actions contradict the principle of meritocracy (
In most Western countries, there is a considerable gap in the effort to reverse inequality among men and women, being women those who have made more achievements, and those who strive to change stereotypes
Authors express their gratitude to the Spanish General Council of Technical Arquitecture. They designed and implemented the questionnaire, and provided the data used in this research.